Sutton, Vermont#Climate

Sutton was chartered on February 26, 1782, by the Vermont Legislature. Chartered as Billymead to Dr. Jonathan Arnold of Rhode Island and associates, and named for Arnold's younger son, William. By 1810, townsfolk had had enough of Billy and his name due to his bullying and drunken behavior, and at a town meeting they voted overwhelmingly to change the name to Sutton.

Villages and hamlets in Sutton include Sutton, Sutton Depot, and Summit Siding. The population at the 2010 US Census was 1,029.

Sutton is located in northern Caledonia County. It is bordered by the town of Lyndon to the south, Wheelock to the southwest, Sheffield to the west, Barton to the northwest, Westmore to the north, Newark to the northeast, and Burke to the east. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of {{convert|99.4|sqkm|disp=flip}}, of which {{convert|98.9|sqkm|disp=flip}} is land and {{convert|0.5|sqkm|disp=flip}}, or 0.51%, is water.{{cite web| url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/0600000US5000571575| archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212162533/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/0600000US5000571575| url-status=dead| archive-date=February 12, 2020| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Sutton town, Caledonia County, Vermont| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder| access-date=February 6, 2013}}

The highest point in Sutton is the summit of Mount Hor in the northern corner of town, with an elevation of {{convert|809.5|m|disp=flip|0}} above sea level.U.S. Geological Survey Sutton, VT 7.5-minute quadrangle, 1986. The modest elevation of this town gives it a slightly cooler and wetter climate than nearby towns such as St. Johnsbury. Annual snowfall averages well over 100 inches per year at the weather station in the center of town.

Sutton has a humid continental climate (Koppen: Dfb), typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm summers with cool nights and very cold and snowy winters. Exceptionally for such a small town, two NWS-certified weather stations have operated in the town for much of recent history. From January 1948 until spring 2017, the original station, located in a frost hollow at an altitude of about 1000 feet, reported data for the town. In January 2000, a new station was built in a hilly area a few miles away and at about 500 feet higher altitude. This station is still reporting today.

The two stations show distinct microclimates. At the valley station, a freeze has been recorded for every month of the year as well a temperature of at least {{convert|60|F}}.{{cite web | url=https://wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?vt8172 | title=Date! , - Climate Summary }} The newer station has a much shorter period of record, but NOAA also lists mean monthly maximum and mean monthly minimum temperatures, which are the highest and lowest temperatures one can expect in a typical month each year. From this one can see that the hill station has much less variability of temperature, with much less chance of frost during the warm months.

{{Weather box

|location = Sutton 2NE, Vermont, 1991–2020 normals: 1000ft (305m)

|single line = Yes

|Jan record high F= 61

|Feb record high F= 61

|Mar record high F= 77

|Apr record high F = 85

|May record high F = 88

|Jun record high F = 95

|Jul record high F = 95

|Aug record high F = 96

|Sep record high F = 96

|Oct record high F = 80

|Nov record high F = 70

|Dec record high F = 58

|year record high F =

|Jan avg record high F= 44

|Feb avg record high F= 46

|Mar avg record high F= 57

|Apr avg record high F = 75

|May avg record high F = 83

|Jun avg record high F = 88

|Jul avg record high F = 89

|Aug avg record high F = 88

|Sep avg record high F = 84

|Oct avg record high F = 73

|Nov avg record high F = 62

|Dec avg record high F = 46

|year avg record high F = 90

|Jan high F = 22.7

|Feb high F = 26.6

|Mar high F = 35.9

|Apr high F = 49.8

|May high F = 64.3

|Jun high F = 72.4

|Jul high F = 77.0

|Aug high F = 75.7

|Sep high F = 68.3

|Oct high F = 54.2

|Nov high F = 40.5

|Dec high F = 28.8

|year high F =

|Jan mean F = 10.7

|Feb mean F = 12.9

|Mar mean F = 22.9

|Apr mean F = 37.3

|May mean F = 50.3

|Jun mean F = 59.4

|Jul mean F = 64.0

|Aug mean F = 62.1

|Sep mean F = 54.4

|Oct mean F = 42.4

|Nov mean F = 30.7

|Dec mean F = 18.9

|year mean F =

|Jan low F = -1.3

|Feb low F = -0.8

|Mar low F = 9.8

|Apr low F = 24.7

|May low F = 36.3

|Jun low F = 46.4

|Jul low F = 51.0

|Aug low F = 48.4

|Sep low F = 40.5

|Oct low F = 30.7

|Nov low F = 20.8

|Dec low F = 9.1

|year low F =

|Jan avg record low F= -26

|Feb avg record low F= -24

|Mar avg record low F= -17

|Apr avg record low F = 11

|May avg record low F = 23

|Jun avg record low F = 32

|Jul avg record low F = 39

|Aug avg record low F = 36

|Sep avg record low F = 27

|Oct avg record low F = 18

|Nov avg record low F = 4

|Dec avg record low F = −14

|year avg record low F = −29

|Jan record low F = −38

|Feb record low F = −38

|Mar record low F = −31

|Apr record low F = -1

|May record low F = 15

|Jun record low F = 23

|Jul record low F = 31

|Aug record low F = 31

|Sep record low F = 20

|Oct record low F = 11

|Nov record low F = −10

|Dec record low F = −29

|year record low F =

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation inch = 3.13

|Feb precipitation inch = 2.66

|Mar precipitation inch = 3.21

|Apr precipitation inch = 3.49

|May precipitation inch = 3.93

|Jun precipitation inch = 4.11

|Jul precipitation inch = 4.40

|Aug precipitation inch = 4.86

|Sep precipitation inch = 3.86

|Oct precipitation inch = 4.77

|Nov precipitation inch = 3.51

|Dec precipitation inch = 4.10

|year precipitation inch =

|Jan snow inch = 25.8

|Feb snow inch = 29.4

|Mar snow inch = 19.9

|Apr snow inch = 6.4

|May snow inch = 0.1

|Jun snow inch = 0.0

|Jul snow inch = 0.0

|Aug snow inch = 0.0

|Sep snow inch = 0.0

|Oct snow inch = 0.8

|Nov snow inch = 7.0

|Dec snow inch = 24.2

|year snow inch =

|source 1 = NOAA

{{cite web

|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USC00438172&format=pdf

|title = Sutton 2NE, Vermont 1991-2020 Monthly Normals

|access-date = October 18, 2023

}}

|source 2 = XMACIS (records & monthly max/mins)

{{cite web

|url = https://xmacis.rcc-acis.org/

|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

|title = xmACIS

|access-date = October 18, 2023

}}

}}

Four miles away on a hill,{{Cite web | url=http://berkeleyearth.lbl.gov/auto/Stations/TAVG/Text/40342-TAVG-Data.txt | format=TXT | title=This file contains a station summary listing for a temperature station in the Berkeley Earth database | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020204022/http://berkeleyearth.lbl.gov/auto/Stations/TAVG/Text/40342-TAVG-Data.txt | archive-date=2020-10-20}} a recently built weather station has data for the period from 2000 to 2020 only. The daily temperature amplitude is smaller, with warmer lows and cooler highs. Yet, despite the higher elevation{{cite web | url=https://rda.ucar.edu/datasets/ds901.0/station_libraries/state43.html | title=COOP library for state 43 }} of the new station, its temperatures are slightly warmer than at the valley station. There is more rain and snow here, as well.

{{Weather box

|location = Sutton, Vermont, 2000–2020 normals: 1500ft (457m)

|single line = Yes

|Jan record high F= 59

|Feb record high F= 64

|Mar record high F= 77

|Apr record high F = 85

|May record high F = 91

|Jun record high F = 90

|Jul record high F = 92

|Aug record high F = 92

|Sep record high F = 92

|Oct record high F = 79

|Nov record high F = 66

|Dec record high F = 55

|year record high F =

|Jan avg record high F= 44

|Feb avg record high F= 47

|Mar avg record high F= 56

|Apr avg record high F = 75

|May avg record high F = 82

|Jun avg record high F = 86

|Jul avg record high F = 86

|Aug avg record high F = 86

|Sep avg record high F = 83

|Oct avg record high F = 73

|Nov avg record high F = 60

|Dec avg record high F = 48

|year avg record high F = 89

|Jan high F = 23.2

|Feb high F = 27.1

|Mar high F = 36.1

|Apr high F = 49.4

|May high F = 63.2

|Jun high F = 70.7

|Jul high F = 75.9

|Aug high F = 74.9

|Sep high F = 68.2

|Oct high F = 54.1

|Nov high F = 40.4

|Dec high F = 29.3

|year high F =

|Jan mean F = 13.6

|Feb mean F = 16.9

|Mar mean F = 25.9

|Apr mean F = 39.4

|May mean F = 52.7

|Jun mean F = 60.9

|Jul mean F = 66.1

|Aug mean F = 64.6

|Sep mean F = 57.6

|Oct mean F = 44.8

|Nov mean F = 32.5

|Dec mean F = 21.1

|year mean F =

|Jan low F = 4.0

|Feb low F = 6.6

|Mar low F = 15.7

|Apr low F = 29.4

|May low F = 42.2

|Jun low F = 51.0

|Jul low F = 56.2

|Aug low F = 54.4

|Sep low F = 47.1

|Oct low F = 35.5

|Nov low F = 24.7

|Dec low F = 12.8

|year low F =

|Jan avg record low F= −18

|Feb avg record low F= −14

|Mar avg record low F= −7

|Apr avg record low F = 16

|May avg record low F = 29

|Jun avg record low F = 38

|Jul avg record low F = 46

|Aug avg record low F = 44

|Sep avg record low F = 32

|Oct avg record low F = 23

|Nov avg record low F = 8

|Dec avg record low F = −8

|year avg record low F = −20

|Jan record low F = −30

|Feb record low F = −26

|Mar record low F = −19

|Apr record low F = 3

|May record low F = 25

|Jun record low F = 32

|Jul record low F = 42

|Aug record low F = 39

|Sep record low F = 25

|Oct record low F = 17

|Nov record low F = −2

|Dec record low F = −25

|year record low F =

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation inch = 3.04

|Feb precipitation inch = 3.00

|Mar precipitation inch = 3.29

|Apr precipitation inch = 3.89

|May precipitation inch = 4.28

|Jun precipitation inch = 4.55

|Jul precipitation inch = 4.96

|Aug precipitation inch = 4.71

|Sep precipitation inch = 3.58

|Oct precipitation inch = 4.67

|Nov precipitation inch = 3.69

|Dec precipitation inch = 3.87

|year precipitation inch =

|Jan snow inch = 31.3

|Feb snow inch = 35.8

|Mar snow inch = 23.5

|Apr snow inch = 9.2

|May snow inch = 0.6

|Jun snow inch = 0.0

|Jul snow inch = 0.0

|Aug snow inch = 0.0

|Sep snow inch = 0.0

|Oct snow inch = 1.6

|Nov snow inch = 12.0

|Dec snow inch = 27.7

|year snow inch =

|source 1 = XMACIS (Temp normals & max/mins)

|source 2 = NOAA (Precipitation & Snow)

{{cite web

|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USC00438169&format=pdf

|title= Sutton, Vermont 1991-2020 Monthly Normals

|access-date = October 18, 2023

}}

}}

{{US Census population

|1800= 144

|1810= 433

|1820= 697

|1830= 1005

|1840= 1068

|1850= 1001

|1860= 987

|1870= 920

|1880= 838

|1890= 746

|1900= 694

|1910= 711

|1920= 659

|1930= 596

|1940= 561

|1950= 528

|1960= 476

|1970= 438

|1980= 667

|1990= 854

|2000= 1001

|2010= 1029

|2020= 913

|align-fn=center

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html |title=U.S. Decennial Census |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=May 16, 2015 }}

}}

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,001 people, 366 households, and 270 families residing in the town. The population density was 26.2 people per square mile (10.1/km²). There were 439 housing units at an average density of 11.5 per square mile (4.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.60% White, 0.20% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 1.20% from other races, and 0.80% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.40% of the population.

There were 366 households, out of which 38.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.5% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.2% were non-families. 18.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 29.8% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $36,750, and the median income for a family was $40,368. Males had a median income of $27,303 versus $25,000 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,564. About 10.5% of families and 13.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.2% of those under age 18 and 17.9% of those age 65 or over.

• Luis Guzmán, actor{{cite web |url=http://www.leg.state.vt.us/docs/legdoc.cfm?URL=/docs/2004/resolutn/HCR304.HTM |work=State of Vermont |title=Joint Concurrent House Resolution |access-date=August 12, 2016}}
• Edward Hoagland, essayist{{Cite news|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edward-Hoagland|title=Edward Hoagland {{!}} American writer|work=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=September 14, 2017|language=en}}
• Henry Oscar Houghton, co-founder of Houghton Mifflin
• Garret Keizer, author and essayist

{{Reflist}}

{{Caledonia County, Vermont}}

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Category:Towns in Vermont

Category:Towns in Caledonia County, Vermont